FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
February 10, 2022
Contact: Lynna Kaucheck, lynna@progressmichigan.org
New Report Sheds Light on Gun Violence in Michigan and What it Will Take to Curb It
Michigan scores above national average in nearly every statistical category of gun violence
MICHIGAN – Today, Center for American Progress and Progress Michigan released a report documenting gun violence in Michigan. The report cites the alarming trends about gun violence in Michigan and includes policy recommendations aimed at preventing gun violence and making our communities safer.
“Michigan has a gun violence problem,” said Myaia Holmes, gun violence prevention campaign manager for Progress Michigan. “As a state we are behind when it comes to passing policies that will prevent gun violence. This report should serve as a roadmap for lawmakers whose responsibility it is to take action to keep our communities safe.”
Michigan is about average overall when it comes to gun violence, but there are six key areas where Michigan exceeds the national average, and that poses a cause for alarm. Michigan has some of the highest rates of gun homicides of Black people; gun suicides are on the rise in Michigan, particularly among veterans; Michiganders experience higher rates of non-fatal gun injuries when compared to other states; women are killed by intimate partners with a gun at an alarming rate; gun theft is a significant problem in Michigan and stolen guns are often used to commit crimes; and the risk posed by armed extremists in Michigan is the highest in the nation.
“There are a lot of evidence-based policies that state decision makers can act on to prevent harm and save lives,” said Eugenio Weigend Vargas, director for gun violence prevention for Center for American Progress. “Michigan lawmakers can use the admittedly grim statistics documented in the report to spur changes that will make Michigan safer.”
To begin to make our neighborhoods safer Michigan must make a significant investment in evidence-based community violence intervention/prevention programs. Funding exists for these programs in the American Rescue Plan, but lawmakers at the state and local levels must appropriate the funding to meet our communities’ needs. Lawmakers can also take action to protect people at risk of harming themselves and at risk of being harmed by domestic abusers by implementing Extreme Risk Protection Order laws. Lastly, our lawmakers must promote the safe storage of firearms by holding gun owners accountable if they fail to safely store their firearm and that firearm is used in the commission of a crime or an accident involving a child.
“We are advocating for evidence-based, common-sense policies that will save lives in Michigan,” Holmes continued. “The recent tragedy in Oxford should serve as a wakeup call to lawmakers that have hidden behind the gun lobby and used partisan politics to keep them from taking action to protect Michiganders for too long. All Michiganders deserve to live in healthy, safe neighborhoods and our lawmakers in Lansing need to get to work to protect people from unwarranted violence.”
Read the full report here.
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